The ideals of the American Revolution included freedom from an oppressive government, freedom from unnecessary taxation and the liberty to pursue happiness. These ideas are at work in US politics today. The ideology of the American Revolution can be seen in the objective news that relates the messages of politicians as well as the more biased news sources which represent the values and ideas of groups with various ideologies and the blogs and website of community level organizations.
US politicians and various groups of citizens are appealing to revolutionary ideology in domestic politics today. An easily recognized example is the Trump election platform, which had the slogan “Make America Great Again”. This slogan calls up the history of individualism and the value of liberty which began as revolutionary ideals, but today manifest somewhat differently. Rather than protection from foreign monarchies, today America requires protection from foreign immigration which threatens the employment of Americans, and protection from Muslims who are seen as a threat to America’s Christian values and a source of terrorism (Goldstein, pp. 7-15).
A February 8 news release by the White House was titled “President Trump Has Been a Champion for Religious Freedom”. In this release, a variety of steps taken by the Trump administration to reverse restrictions or limits placed by previous administration are detailed. These included a reversal of amendments which protected homosexual couples from discrimination based on religion, permission to provide funding to houses of worship and freedom of speech based on religion (White House, n.p.).
A recent news story in the Cap News, which is not a mainstream newspaper, warned that Americans are likely to revolt because of the oppressive interference of government in their lives today, and the support for big business and the rich at the expense of the everyday Americans (The Cap Times, n.p.). The article stated: “Americans rebelled in 1776 because the King of England only paid attention to the wealthy, akin to what too many politicians are doing today.” (The Cap Times, n.p.). These ideas of liberty, individualism and the protection of Americans from foreign intrusion, which came to the forefront of the American identity in the time leading up to the American Revolution, continue to be active today.